How I made it: Antique Wine Company’s Stephen Williams

Stephen Williams explains how he went from wine tastings in people’s homes to a multi-million pound business that specialises in rare vintages

Stephen Williams' wine business is expected to make a turnover of £20m this year (Julian Andrews)
For Stephen Williams, selling life assurance on commission proved to be the
deadest of ends. “I wanted to sell something that people would buy again and
again and get a great deal of pleasure out of buying,” he said. “Nobody ever
called me to buy another insurance policy.”

And so he turned to wine. Now The Antique Wine Company, which he founded, has
15 staff and expects to turn over £20m this year.

The oldest of three children, Williams was born in Ripley, an industrial town
in Derbyshire, where his father sold cash registers. When he was 10, his
parents separated and he was brought up by his mother. “She really
struggled,” he said. “She would do part-time work to keep us together as a
family. I learnt to be independent at a fairly early age.”